When raising funds, be brutally honest with yourself about specifically which stage you’re at — one of three:

1. Are you pre-traction? Raise an angel round. Strategy: sell the dream. You don’t have numbers to sell so don’t even try to sell investors on traction at this point. You will only end up with dumb investors. You’re raising money to prove people will use what you make.

2. Do you have early traction? Raise a Seed round. Strategy: sell the traction. Show off your traction. You’re raising money to figure out how to convert this traction into repeated, up-and-to-the-right growth.

3. Do you have repeatable, up-and-to-the-right growth? Raise an A round. Strategy: sell the growth. You’re raising money at this point just to cover costs because you’re not generating enough revenue yet, but everything else is up and to the right. “We’ve got a fire; let’s pour gas on it.”